Sunday, June 7, 2009

As my friends (and even sorta-friends) know, I'm not fond of "slippery slope" arguments. But this situation can't be ignored . . . a test to determine the gender of unborn children as soon as eight weeks after conception is on the market, over-the-counter, in Australia. (Link to story here.) For $125.00 parents can buy a urine test to determine if their baby is a boy or a girl. Some parents may just be curious or need to get a head start on painting their nurseries pink or blue but I doubt it. Can't wait for the ultrasound? Come on.

The real reason to test for gender so early in a pregnancy is to abort before anyone knows that a woman is pregnant - or before she might change her mind and grow fond of the child - and then try again if life's lottery* didn't provide the wanted boy or girl. This test is going to lead to abortion for gender selection. There is no doubt.

Technology, research, scientific advancement . . . I'm all for it. But just because humanity has discovered "how" to do something, that doesn't mean that we "should" do it.

Hopefully, this cancerous new technology can be contained in Australia. But the slope seems awfully slippery.

*As an aside . . . I know that "life's lottery" doesn't really exist. God chooses a baby's gender. Every boy and every girl is a gift. But, I can't imagine that most of the people who will buy this gender test even believe in God. If they did, how could they consider destroying His creation?